MIS
What does MIS stand for?
Management Information Systems
Define the difference between data and information.
Data is raw facts such as age or temperature. While information give the data meaning within a specified context (average age of customers or highest recorded temp for the last 10 years)
Define Break-Even Analysis
Analyzing a business in terms of costs and revenue to find the point at which the business can start making money (profit).
List the 5 forces Porter defines
Buyer Power
Supplier Power
Threat of substitute products
Threat of new entrants
Rivalry among existing competitors
MIS deals with the coordination and use of 3 important organizational resources. What are they?
People, Information, Technology
The 4 quality attributes of information are what?
Timeliness, location, form, and validity
List and define the 3 pieces of break-even analysis
Fixed costs - costs you incur even if you don't sell anything (rent, employees, business website)
Variable costs - costs you incur when you sell something (cost to produce the goods, shipping, etc)
Revenue - how much you sell one unit for
Buyer power is high when buyers have many choices and low when their choices are limited. Give some examples in Yankton of where your Buyer Power is high and when it is low.
High - Gas stations
Low - Coffee shops, fast food, movie theater.
MIS uses ______ and turns it into useful ______ to be used by a company by applying a specific meaning to it. Fill in the blanks
Data. information.
Information technology (IT) uses computer-based tools that people use to work with information. There are 2 types of technology used. What are they?
Hardware and software.
What are some ways businesses can reduce fixed costs with the help of IT?
Digital stores, no physical location
Telecommuting - utilizing zoom/skype rather than traveling for meetings.
Using internet for phone calls/service (VoIP)
Define switching costs and provide an example of one.
Cost that makes a buyer reluctant to switch to another product/service.
Apartment lease - risk losing out on money and deposit if leave before the agreement is over.
The Synergy of the 3 important MIS resources can help organizations do what?
Achieve a competitive edge, do things cheaper and faster, increase revenue, and innovate new processes.
Input device, output device, and storage device.
What are some ways companies can reduce variable costs with the help of IT?
Selling/producing virtual goods (no physical items needed, able to reproduce quickly)
Crowdsourcing (using non-paid software/people for help)
Printing shipping labels at home rather than traveling to the post office (often save money on shipping as well as on gas)
What are some things that make the threat of new entrants low/high?
High - few laws/regulations needed to comply with, low startup cost, wide range of customers
Low - very strict market, market flooded with companies, lots of laws/patents to navigate around, very high startup costs.
Define MIS
Planning for, development, management, and use of information technology to help people perform all tasks related to information processing and management
Describe the differences between application software and system software. Provide an example of each.
Application software enables you to solve specific problems and perform specific tasks (PowerPoint). System software handles specific technology management (MacOS)
What are ways of increasing revenue with the help of IT?
Providing recommended items to customers on the website, using online ads (facebook, instagram, snapchat, etc.)
Long-tail economics - selling products/services directly from a warehouse or company rather than physically having the item on hand.
Using Google search practices to appear on the first page.
Banking - online banking, mobile check deposit, various ATM locations
Pizza - online order tracking, ability to customize pizza online or in app
Smart watch - steps tracking, text/call notifications, ability to customize watch face/screen